Commentary: Be wary of slowing down HFTHigh-frequency trading helps to create efficient markets in a high-information world, and ill-considered regulations can create market distortions that do more harm than good, writes Holly Bell, an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Wall Street Journal
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New York Focus

Major ratings agencies face N.Y. investigation, source saysStandard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings are facing an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a source says. Schneiderman's move follows a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against S&P over its rating of mortgage bonds before the global financial crisis. The Justice Department's decision to sue S&P and not other rating agencies has prompted questions and speculation among investors and other market participants. Reuters
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NYSE plans to close NYBX because of lack of interestThe New York Stock Exchange told regulators that it will shut down the New York Block Exchange on Feb. 28. "The exchange is ceasing operations of NYBX facility because after years of operations the facility has not garnered enough volume to achieve critical mass," NYSE said. Bloomberg
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Commentary: White is wrong for SEC chiefMary Jo White's history as a lawyer for Wall Street firms is likely to make her too soft on the financial industry, despite her having been a federal prosecutor more than a decade ago, Susan Antilla writes. White may be too concerned about how pressuring the banks will affect her eventual return to the private sector, Antilla writes. Bloomberg
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On The Economy

Analysis: Signs of recovery are seen in jobless claimsInitial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 last week, and retailers reported a 5% increase in same-store sales last month compared with January 2012, pointing to a slow but real recovery in the U.S. economy, Jason Lange writes. The slow pace of improvement, however, leads many experts to think the Federal Reserve will continue stimulus well into next year. Reuters
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Financial Products

Schwab widens commission-free ETF tradingCharles Schwab is expanding its program of commission-free exchange-traded funds by joining with Invesco and State Street. "This is about responding to investors, and investors tell us that commissions are a barrier to trading," said Beth Flynn, Schwab's vice president of ETF platform management. Bloomberg
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